Iran: UN rights experts outraged at the execution of two
juvenile offenders
GENEVA (16 October 2015) – United Nations human rights
experts today expressed their outrage and profound sadness at the execution of
Fatemeh Salbehi, a juvenile offender convicted for the death of her husband,
whom she had been forced to marry at the age of 16.
Ms. Salbehi was hanged on Tuesday 13 October in breach of
international law banning juvenile executions, and despite reported flaws in
her trial and appeal process. She is the 11th woman to be executed so far this
year in Iran, where at least 700 other people have been executed.
A week earlier, another juvenile offender was executed in
secret in Iran: Samad Zahabi. No notice was provided to Mr. Zahabi’s family,
nor was the required 48 hour notice provided to his lawyer. He was sentenced to
death in March 2013 for the killing of a fellow shepherd, when he was only
seventeen years old.
“These executions are disturbing examples of surging
execution rates and questionable fair trial standards in the Islamic Republic
of Iran,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in
Iran, Ahmed Shaheed. “The Iranian authorities must comply with its
international law obligations and put an end to the execution of juvenile
offenders once and for all.”
The UN Special Rapporteur on summary executions, Cristof
Heyns, stated “Let us be clear – these are unlawful killings committed by the
State, the equivalent of murders performed by individuals. These are profound
tragedies that demean the value of human life and sully the reputation of the
country.” He added that “executing a juvenile offender, especially after a
questionable trial, directly contravenes the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which
Iran is a party. Iran must immediately stop killing children”.
“The lack of judicial consideration for Ms. Salbehi’s
circumstances is emblematic of the struggles victims of domestic abuse face in
the judicial system,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women,
Dubravka Šimonoviæ. “We cannot ignore the serious consequences of
psychological, sexual and physical violence in the home on a woman’s physical
and psychological health.”
While highlighting Ms. Salbehi’s young age at the times
of her marriages and her lack of consent, Ms. Šimonoviæ expressed concern for
the high numbers of early and forced marriages in Iran.
The UN human rights experts strongly urged the Iranian
Government to immediately establish a moratorium on executions with a view to
abolishing the death penalty.
ENDS
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest
body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that
address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of
the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not
UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from
any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity. Learn
more, log on to:
Human rights in Iran:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/IRIndex.aspx
Summary executions:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Executions/Pages/SRExecutionsIndex.aspx
Violence against women:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/SRWomen/Pages/SRWomenIndex.aspx
UN Human Rights, Country Page – Iran:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/IRIndex.aspx
For more information and media requests, please contact
Mr. Naveed Ahmed (+41 22 928 9477 / nahmed@ohchr.org)
For media inquiries related to other UN independent
experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917
9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)
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